Thank You!

The mechanical rabbits of Massachusetts (and I) would like to thank all who voted to ban dog racing. Three cheers for the Greyhound Protection Act!

Health Special: Lead Poisoning

While it is widely know that pregnant women and children are at risk for lead poisoning, the danger faced by pets is less recognized. Of household pets, rabbits at an elevated risk due to their nibbling nature--from ingesting, in addition to inhaling, paint particles when they lick or chew on the walls.
Lead poisoning is a relevant danger in areas with older buildings, especially in New York and Massachusetts. Unfortunately, in these areas, virtually all apartments built before 1978 used lead-based paints. In greater Boston, where homes are often 100 or more years old, the incidence of lead poisoning in rabbits is alarmingly high; yet, there is little literature or verbal warning available to owners. Lead poisoning is all too often lethal in rabbits, with excruciating belly pain and possible neurological affects, but the good news is that it is preventable.

Some preventative measures:
-Talk to potential landlords before moving in to get an accurate history of the place and know your tenant rights.
-Look into the possibility of deleading your apartment. This can be quite pricey but in some instances the landlord is legally obligated to take care of it.
-Paint. The more layers there are over the lead-based paint, the less of a chance of inhalation or ingestion.
-When remodeling, follow specific guidelines to avoid exposing lead-laced dust particles. Look into the EPA's report on dos and don'ts.
-Put up adhesive contact paper around the baseboards and lower walls that the rabbit can access.
-Supervise your rabbit. A house with lead can never be 100% rabbit-proof. You should always be aware of where your rabbit is and what she is doing.

Signs and symptoms of lead poisoning:
Signs and symptoms of a lead poisoned rabbit include loss of appetite, decrease or cessation of fecal droppings, diarrhea, listlessness, depression, sudden change of litterbox habbits, and even some neurological changes. If you notice any of these symptoms, especially the diet and behavioral changes, get your rabbit to an experienced veterinarian immediately, where a simple blood test can determine the presence of lead.

Treament of lead poisoning:
Treatment for lead poisoning is chelation therapy. Your vet will also administer fluids and pain medication and may need to syringe feed your rabbit to overcome ileus (arrested stomach contractions).Sometimes right after syringe feeding, your rabbit will be willing to eat a few bites of fresh food. Offer her favorite foods, anything to get the stomach going again. Fresh, aromatic herbs such as cilantro, basil, parsley are good, along with dark leafy greens like romaine. (Though nothing conclusive has been proved, various sources claim that cilantro suppresses lead deposition. Since this herb is otherwise delicious and healthy for rabbits, it's an excellent treat at this time.) The point is to keep your rabbit alive while the chelation removes the lead from the body.
One thing to note is that the chelation therapy can lead to calcium build-up in the bladder, often creating a painful to excrete sludge-like matter. If your rabbit is dribbling, place down Puppy Pads over the carpet and also the cage floor so the rabbit does not have to jump in and out of the litter box.

The bottom line:
Lead poisoning can be serious and devastating, but it is treatable and most importantly, highly preventable if the proper precautions are observed. Spread the news about lead poisoning to all your rabbit-owning friends and acquaintances. You may be saving a life!


*This article is dedicated to Dr. Mickley and Dr. Orcutt at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, who treated my rabbit, Graysie, and to my former roommate, M. Offit, who was of life-saving assistance, during Graysie's battle with lead poisoning in November of 2006.

How to Pick Up a Rabbit

Rabbits deserve a high level of respect and this includes the right not to be restrained by humans for our pleasure, for instance, by unnecessarily picking them up. (Look back here to read why rabbits don't like being held despite their stuffed-animal appearance.) However, there are instances, like a vet visit or a nail trim, that require a rabbit to be picked up.

Knowing the proper way to pick up and hold your rabbit is essential to avoiding serious injury. When picking up a rabbit, you'll need to be confident and slightly forceful. Meek attempts allow the rabbit to flail and kick out its hind legs, which could cause a disastrous spinal fracture. Therefore you must always support the bottom of a rabbit while they are being picked up and held.



The best way to pick up a rabbit starts with a few nice pats on the head for reassurance.














Then, move your hands down to its shoulders and wrap your hands around its back and sides, pushing down softly but firmly.














Move your right hand under the chest and lift up slightly.












Place your left hand on the bottom of the rabbit near its tail and lift her up, holding her firmly and tightly.












Place the rabbit to your chest, supporting her legs. Hold her firmly and securely, disabling her ability to jump. A fall from a few feet can lead to a leg or back fracture.
If your rabbit has a tendency to flail when held, wrap her in a towel to restrain her completely. This sort of wrapping technique can be helpful for nail trims as well.


















She gets a treat for being such a good sport!

Question from the Audience: Urine Trouble and Pellet Trouble

A two-part question from Kelly S. in Boston, MA:

Q: Bunnicula is a large albino (New Zealand) spayed female rabbit. She is litter trained and I never keep her in her cage. She has free range of the bedroom. One of my questions is: although I mentioned that she is litter trained she's recently started peeing on my bed...not fun. We've been leaving a shower curtain over the bed now (when we're not in it) and she hasn't peed on the curtain yet...I'm just hoping that we can go back to our curtain-free bed soon. I'm not sure why she started this behavior, any ideas?

Interspecies Cuddling: Mouse, the cat, and Bunnicula, the bunnicula

A: With sudden changes in urinary behavior, you need to be suspect of a urinary tract infection. While these are hard to diagnose definitively without a sterile urine sample (note that its not impossible to get a urine sample from a rabbit...) the vet will usually prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic to see if the unwanted behavior goes away.

However, UTI-related changes usually result in dribbling in the cage or next to the litterbox; the fact that Bunnicula is jumping up on your bed to urinate leads me to believe this is more a territory-related issue. You mention that she has free range of the bedroom at all times. While you are retraining her to use only her litterbox, you will need to restrict her freedom by only letting her out when you are there to observe her. Additionally, you will need to prohibit her access from the bed. The idea behind this retraining is that you need to show her that you, not she, is not the owner of the bed. She will quickly get this once she is shooed off the bed a few times. When she understands that she's not the master of the bed, she won't feel the need to mark it as her territory. Once she starts behaving and staying off the bed, she can slowly have her freedom back, but it's possible she'll need some form of supervision permanently. Eventually, you can also experiment with letting her back up on the bed, but if the problem returns, you may just have to cut off bed access altogether.


Q: I'm also concerned about her weight...how much pellets should I be feeding her? She has unlimited timothy hay and veggies and I usually just make sure she always has pellets as well...but she's getting quite big! She loves her pellets though and I feel like I'm denying her when she runs out and I don't fill her bowl. She's quite a diva when she runs out of pellets, too, throwing her bowl around the cage, etc. I'm going to be such a push-over mom!

A: Originally, commercial pellets were created as feed for rabbits raised for slaughter. These rabbits didn't need to live long and healthy lives; they needed to plump up as fast as possible. Now you can understand why commercial pellets- while delicious- need to be restricted in the diet. It's like fast food for us.

Rabbit obesity is serious for several reasons. Bunnies have very sensitive stomachs and too many pellets (and consequently too little fiber) can cause all sorts of GI tract problems. Unrestricted access to pellets is linked to heart and dental problems; additionally, risk increases as the extra pounds go up when it comes to general anesthesia, if this ever became relevant for dental or surgical reasons.

Timothy hay should compose a large part of the rabbit's diet; rabbits can live off hay and vegetables healthily. But we've spoiled our rabbits with junk food and cutting it out completely seems harsh for us pushover Moms (or Dads)! But since you've noticed Bunnicula's unhealthy weight gain, she should probably go on a little bunny diet.

Follow this rule: Feed 1/8 cup food for every 4lbs. So, if your rabbit is 8 lbs, feed 1/8 cup in the morning and 1/8 cup at night, as to spread it out. Provide unlimited Timothy hay and an assortment of fresh veggies every morning. If you're unsure about anything, talk to your vet.

And if your rabbit is throwing temper tantrums, the best thing to do is ignore them (as with human kids!). If your rabbit has bowl-throwing temper tantrums, and a lot of them do, acquire these attachable bowls from PetSmart- they are a lifesaver!

How to Train your Rabbit

Training your rabbit to come when called can be a valuable tool. I use this command to get my rabbit into her cage and keep her mentally stimulated!
To teach your bunny this trick, start by crouching down a few feet away from her. Hold a treat, like a blueberry in your hand and make tsk tsk tsk sounds. If there's no response, move a little closer and let your rabbit smell the treat, making the tsk continuously. When she comes to you, continue making the sound and give her the treat. Move back and start the process over again. Your aim is to get the rabbit to associate the tsk sound with a treat. She'll likely catch on faster than you think, but the bottom line here is patience and repetition. Later on, you'll only need a treat half the time. Practice calling her over often to keep it fresh in her memory, and if your rabbit starts giving you that clueless look, increase the frequency of your practice sessions.

This sort of Pavlovian conditioning works well with rabbits. As we owners know, bunnies are intelligent creatures. Teaching them commands is an excellent way to mentally stimulate and keep them active, thinking, and happy. And teaching your rabbit to come when called can make your life easier. You'll never have to chase her into the cage at night again! She'll go in on command. This not only helps you, but since your rabbit is entering the cage seemingly at her own will, she'll view the cage as her own controlled territory, causing her to feel safer.

Question from the Audience: Bunny Friends

A question from Greg S. in Boston, MA:

Q: I currently have a male lionhead rabbit, and he lives alone, is an indoor rabbit and gets a lot of time out of his cage. However, there are still a few hours he is home alone and I was considering getting a bonding candidate for him. I was wondering whether there is any sort of sign that finding a mate would be good? He has been introduced to another rabbit before and seemed very interested and gentle, the other rabbit on the other hand was not interested and too dominant. Do you think this submissiveness would be with all rabbits or was that an isolated example?

A: If you ever observed a bonded pair of rabbits, you immediately understand that rabbits are social creatures who love and enjoy each others' company. And if you didn't think there was anything cuter than your bunny flopping down next to you, you have to see two bunnies cuddling up with each other. The cuteness increases exponentially!

Exponential Cuteness

But before you do adopt, you should first have your rabbit fixed. Neutering eliminates numerous medical problems, halts unwanted behaviors, and also reduces aggression and tension between rabbit companions. Unneutered males can be quite aggressive, though females can be just as violent, and the only sure thing you can do to ease a transition to two bunnies is spay and neuter. Also be aware that it takes roughly six weeks for the hormones to filter out of the body, so you'll have to wait a month or two after the surgery before the introduction. The best combination for a neutered male would be a spayed female, though it's not impossible for two neutered males to get along.

While dominance and submissiveness are relative qualities, they do tend to stay consistent in individuals and seem tied to personality. Since your rabbit reacted calmly and gently during a previous introduction, you can mostly expect he will behave similarly in the future. However, if the introduction with the "too-dominant" rabbit took place in a non-neutral territory, such as on the "too-dominant" bunny's home turf, the meeting was biased, and the circumstances would have affected their personalities. However, their reactions could still resonate in general terms.

The best way to determine how your bunny would react to others is to find out. Many shelters, such as the Boston MSPCA, allow potential adopters to bring in their current pets for a meet and greet. This is a good neutral ground for an introduction and a good way to see which rabbits your pet would get along well with.

While considering a second rabbit, don't forget that you will need a neutral space for them to have their first few interactions, a second cage, and a separate area for the second cage. It will reduce stress levels greatly if the rabbits can get used to each others' smells before the new one moves into your first bunny's territory.

All in all, since rabbits are social creatures, your bunny would most likely greatly enjoy having a pal to hang with. And with adopting another rabbit, you are saving an another life! What could be better than that?

Question from the Audience: Digging and Chewing

Of the seven or so emails I received last week, a whopping three concerned chewing behaviors, specifically carpet chewing. See Sarah L.'s question and answer here, and see below for the additional two:

From Tina S. in Maynard, MA:
Q: We recently adopted an unneutered 1 year old male rex rabbit. We let him have a few hours of fun in the evenings, but he keeps chewing the carpet up in one spot under our dresser. We have tried blocking it off with various things and he always finds a way to get it. I was wondering if you had any advice for us?

And from Allison F. in Arlington, MA:
Q: While my fixed male and female 1.5 yr old bunny pair have lots of a room to run and cardboard to chew, they still insist on digging and pulling out carpet
from time to time. Any ideas on how to discourage this activity?

A: Three primary factors influence chewing behaviors: age, hormones and personality. First, let's focus on the common denominator here: age. All three (including Winnie) are under 2 years old and therefore still in their teenage years. Younger rabbits not only have extra energy to burn, but tend to be more mischievous. Since all the rabbits involved here are still young, it should be reassuring to know that as rabbits grow older, the less trouble they will get into.

Getting your rabbit spayed or neutered is the single most powerful way to reduce their desire to chew and dig. Along with a multitude of health and behavioral benefits that come with fixing your rabbit, comes the lessened desire to burrow, dig, chew, and destroy. The change is most drastic in females, who might be chewing and digging in order to prepare for a (real or fake) pregnancy; however, a neuter surgery will calm a male rabbit as well, reducing a variety of destructive behaviors.

Personality is a large part of chewing and digging. Many rabbits are natural chewers and many are natural troublemakers and the combination of these two qualities can be perilous to your furniture! Here are a few rules and tips to decrease carpet chewing:

1) Strict supervision --> Consistent Discipline --> Smart discipline: Without strict supervision you can't have consistency in discipline. Your rabbit can get away with all sorts of shenanigans and since she will only be getting in trouble half the time, the message of "no!" won't get through clearly. Smart discipline is a large part of seeing results. If your rabbit is interpreting your negative attention (you running over to her every time she digs at the carpet) as play, your discipline is not only failing to get across but even serving as encouragement. Instead try a time-out (back in the cage!) for a few minutes. Time-outs work because they cut out the attention to negative behaviors, and they are less likely to get interpreted as games, thereby showing you mean business!

2) Distraction: Right after your rabbit has stopped the negative behavior, call her over for a fun game or treat. Positive reinforcement and distraction go a long way.

Distraction is the name of the game!

3) Alternatives: Chewing is an important bunny acitivity as rabbit teeth are constantly growing. Always make sure you've provided plenty of timothy hay- it's not only an essential part of their diet, it's necessary for tooth development.
You can try putting a spare piece of carpet or a cotton towel in your rabbit's cage to chew on (just make sure she's not ingesting the fibers), since it's likely the texture she's seeking. These mineral chews are also great. Most rabbits love them and the treats help your rabbit learn to chew only on acceptable items.

4) Repellents: Pet stores sell repellent sprays, such as bitter apple spray (though some rabbits actually like the taste, so test it first). Check out a hardware store for creative ways to block certain spots. Areas like under dressers or under couches are specifically prone to a good chewing because they mimic what digging would be like at the end of a burrow. Block these areas off by putting a large shallow tupperware under the furniture. Get creative!